On February 21, 2014, a 34-year old contract laborer with 6 months of experience was killed at a cement operation when attempting to access an elevator in the finish mill. When the victim opened the elevator door on the fourth floor landing, he stepped into the elevator shaft and fell approximately 51 feet to the top of the elevator car located on the ground floor.
- Immediately report any elevator problems to management.
- Ensure that any problems affecting the safety of an elevator are repaired promptly.
- Ensure that elevator door interlocks, that prevent the door from being opened unless the elevator car is present, are functional.
- Ensure that elevator doors will not open unless an elevator car is at the floor landing.
- Install audible signals that sound when the elevator car is at the landing prior to the doors opening.
- Train all persons to be aware of their surroundings when entering or exiting an elevator car.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).